Disclaimer: The charecters and main plot theory is not mine, it's JK Rowlings, I do not claim anything but the actual writing to be my own.

"Prongs?"

"Yeh?" James asked, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

"Is Monday alright?"

"No, we've got quiddich"

"What 'bout Tuesday?"

"No, Moony's got prefect duties 'till late, and he'll want to study after"

"Wednesday?"

"Nope, Peters got tutoring, Moony and Amos are going to Dumbledore's for some reason, and we have detention with Filtch."

"Ugh, why is it always Filtch? Why can't they put us with slughorn?"

"Because that's not a punishment, Slughorn doesn't make us do anything, especially not after we found out that he's addicted to those pineapples."

"Well what days are we free?"

"Not until the weekend"

"I don't want to wait that long. What about after practice on Monday?"

"We've got a visit arranged"

"Oh, right. Shit. I didn't realize Hogsmead was comin' up so soon."

James turned from his studies to find his friend frowning at him. He saw the look in Sirius' eye that meant he really wanted to do this. James absent mindedly ran his hand through his hair, a nervous habit he'd picked up last year, which had now become just a habit in general.

"Naw, Padfoot, we're not canceling, Monday's the only day that our schedules all coincide. Moony's really been looking forward to this, he says prefect duties are beginning to rattle 'im. Not to mention that, it's Peter's birthday."

"Yeah, I guess." Siruis said

"Look, the forbidden forest will still be there next week. I promise that we'll get the ingredients then."

"Yeah, alright. Hey, you wanna toss that potions book over here?"

James picked it up and lobbed it over to Sirius' bed and turned back to his transfiguration essay.

Lily sat in the common room with Alice and Olivia. They all had long since finished their homework and decided to spend this brisk fall Sunday evening curled up next to the fire.

"How's Amos?" Lily asked Alice

"Oh, you know, he's alright. I don't think anyone studies as much as he does. Which means I don't get to see him much."

"I can imagine, isn't he first in our class?"

"Mmhhmm. Followed closely by Remus and Elizabeth."

"Ugh, I hate her. She's so pretentious." Lily said

"Yeah, she does get really annoying." Olivia said.

"Amos says she's an absolute bitch."

"Yeah, did you hear what she said to me?"

"No, what?"

"She, and I quote, said I was "Unintelligent and bitter because" I'm "not as fortunate" as her"

"What?" Alice said in appalled outrage

"She's just upset because you have friends." Marcy said looking up from the girls' grade slips "And because you're happier than she is, even thought you don't have as good a class rank as her."

"That's ridiculous, I'm only two places behind her, is there that much of a difference?"

"Actually, you're three" Marcy said

"What?" Lily yelped

"Well, like you said, not much of a difference." Marcy said hastily, reluctantly handing her friend the paper and throwing a glance at Alice and Olivia.

Lily looked over the paper and frowned. "I dunno how I could have dropped. My marks are even better now." She reread the paper and looked at her friends "I guess that the way it goes sometimes, huh? Ah well." She said in a voice that clearly showed she was not alright with dropping so much.

Lily was just about to go back to staring into the fire until a figure caught her eye. It was none other than James Potter. She watched with an indifferent face as he walked by. On his way out of the common room, a girl walked up to him and started flirting with him and making boisterous conversation. He talked animatedly for a little while and made his exit.

The girl walked past, making a funny face at Lily as a sign of friendship, Lily mimicked the gesture. It was their way of trying to make good on an obvious rift between them. The girls' name was Sarah; she and Lily had always been close competitors. Sarah had beaten Lily off the quiddich team fourth year. Lily could ignore this because Quiddich was at its height, people practiced since they were barely able to walk and the competition was rough. But Lily was bitter to hear that Sarah had also taken a class rank higher than her at the end of last year.

Sometimes Lily wondered if Sarah even felt as if there were friction between the two of them, she seemed always to come out on top. Lily ignored it and continued to be Sarah's friend, even if she was self centered sometimes. As Sarah left Lily realized that the common room was almost empty. Most people had yet to finish the homework that was due tomorrow, so the girls were left to their conversations in relative privacy.

"So, what do you think of James?" Alice asked casually

"I don't." Lily said coolly

"Right," Marcy said "Even after what he did last year?"

Marcy was referring to the unfortunate occurrence after O.W.L. tests last year where James took it upon himself to torture one of Lily's then good friends. If that hadn't been bad enough, he had asked her out, as if expecting his act of cruelty to make him more attractive. She had never remembered being so mad, except maybe what her 'friend' said to her for trying to defend him.

"Yeh. I guess I don't mind, you know? I'm hoping he's grown up. I just don't have time to think about it anymore."

"That's good, Lil'" Alice said, raising her eyebrows at Marcy while Lily looked down at her book.

Potions that Monday was a drag. Lily wished desperately that it weren't so boring, but Slughorn had taken "ill" again, most likely to go and attend a benefit or party one of his past students had invited him to. The class was taught by Demius Parkinson, a rather boring middle aged man whose son had already graduated. Professor Parkinson, standing in for one day, decided a group activity was exactly what everyone needed. Worksheets were passed out, and everyone was instructed to pick up packets of unknown potion ingredients, identify them and answer the questions. It was probably the first time in Lily's Hogwarts career that worksheets were used so she knew it would be tedious, boring and just the kind of work where conversation would be appreciated. Unfortunately today was assigned seating, and she was nowhere near Alice, Olivia or any of her other friends. Instead she sat at a table with Remus Lupin and James Potter.

"Here, I got you blue, because I know it brings out your inner beast." James said, throwing a blue bag at Remus

"I'm glad, I didn't specifically ask for red or anything." Remus said dryly

"Yeah, but this brings out your inner beast." James said, grinning

"Go to hell" Remus said, lips curved upward

Lily had no idea what they were talking about. She wondered vaguely if it was about Remus being a werewolf but couldn't find a definite connection, so figured it was an inside joke or something and couldn't help but grin a bit.

Conversation between them continued, most of which Lily tuned out. Except when having conversations about quiddich, or coded conversations Lily couldn't understand, they held up a stream of banter that demonstrated a comfort they had with each other. The two together seemed to foil each other perfectly. Remus was quiet, sensible and had hard working. James was outgoing, laid back and exaggerated everything. Their constant insults proved their obvious intelligence. It was refreshing to hear people she didn't know have a perfectly intelligent conversation that didn't have anything to do with who was dating whom.

James left the table to go and talk to Sirius for a second, which he did at least once a class period when there was assigned seating because Professor Slughorn knew better than to seat the two together. Lily decided to talk to Remus; she was tired of sitting there, only speaking to ask for the answer sheet provided.

"You two have an odd relationship" She commented as James was out of earshot.

"Yeah?" Remus said looking up

"Yeah," she said, looking back

"Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?" He asked grinning now

"… I haven't decided yet." She said, grinning as she slid her finger down the chart trying to find her answer.

"Oh." He was still grinning. She liked Remus.

James sat back down and began another conversation that didn't include Lily. It wasn't in a bad way, that he excluded her, or intentional. Honestly she didn't think that thought crossed his mind. He was different this year, there was less tension between them, and they were okay just coinciding. If it had been last year there would have been definite problems. Lily had always hated James' ego, which was at its height last year. She had liked him when she met him in first year, but had basically forgotten him until fourth year. In fourth year she developed a sort of crush on him, despite his ego and Severus's protests. The two of them had been quasi friends that year, but conversation had not come easy, and it made their friendship awkward. Fifth year had by far been James's worst year. He was awful, and had taken to torturing Lily and a select few of other students, strutting around, and lightly teasing her. He'd also managed to ask her out four times, all in front of the entire school. This year, however, James seemed to have dropped his ego, or most of it. It was hard to describe the terms they were on this year, but it was different.

Class ended more quickly than Lily expected, but she had yet to finish her last problem, and knowing full well that she wouldn't want to do it later, stayed a little after to finish. As soon as her last letter was on the page, lily hastened to shove the paper in her bag and swing it over her shoulder. It was lunch now, and she was really hungry, and excited to talk to her friends about the article she read this morning in the Prophet.

"Hey, Lily." Remus said, falling in step with her.

"Hey, how're you?" She said smiling

"Oh, I'm fine, I suppose. Yourself?"

"The same, actually." She said smiling and knowing the weary look.

"It's weird that we haven't really talked at all this year."

"I know, but we don't ever seem to be paired together for prefect du.. ugh"

Just then Lily had run into someone, and looked up to find Severus Snape staring back at her. She hadn't seen him in over three months and hadn't talked to him for longer. She saw him blush slightly and look halfway in between apologizing and yelling. She went strangely stiff, murmured an apology and walked away. He had been her best friend for her entire wizarding career but had a large falling out with him last year.

As she walked past him she heard him say, almost inaudibly

"Stooping low enough to talk to him, Potters friend, and a werewolf; in good company I see." His voice was dripping with sarcasm and hatred.

Lily frowned, having seen that Remus stood awkwardly straight as if straining to hear more and also as if trying to ignore it. She was all of a sudden angry. She didn't care that he was a werewolf just like he didn't care that she was a 'mudblood'. Severus had no right to be mad at her or say cruel things to her because that's why they had stopped talking in the first place. As Soon as he had finished talking she turned on her heel and said loudly in the coldest voice she could muster.

"Yes, I am in good company, you see he doesn't care who I was born to. Not to mention that, he's one of the cleverest wizards I've ever known." With that she turned around and caught up with Remus who was looking shocked, horrified, uncertain and grateful all at the same time.

"Look, I don't care, and I'm not going to ask, because it's your business, not mine. But I think the way society treats werewolves is awful. And they don't deserve the discrimination any more or less than muggle-borns do. It's not my fault I was born to muggles, I can't change it. Screw them." And feeling she had said far too much, Lily moved more briskly to sit with her friends.

She later felt stupid for the outbreak, because if Remus wasn't a werewolf it would have sounded really stupid. She believed that he was a werewolf but didn't know for sure and so couldn't look back on her actions with much conviction. She truly felt that Severus had met the moonlit Remus the night James had saved his life in the Willow. It would explain his theory of Remus's condition sprouting up just after the incident. It would also explain the fear he had shown when recounting the story, though he had tried his best to disguise it among rage. She had first gathered her own theory of Remus's lycanthrope in the middle of second year, but refused to share her theory with anyone in case it was wrong, or for that matter in case it was right.

"Still not talking to him then?" Olivia asked as Lily sat down

"Hmm?" Lily commented as she was pulled from her thoughts

"Severus, you're not talking to him."

"No," Lily said grimly "No I think that mistake has passed. I don't believe we will ever again talk on friendly terms."

"Honestly, I don't understand how you could have befriended him in the first place." Marcy put in, while finishing her sandwich

"It's a long story." Lily said, really not wanting to talk about it.

Well, that's the first chapter, I've written up to the third, so the faster you review, the faster the next ones will go up.